A bus story
January 5th, 2007I was about 8 blocks from home, shut off from the world, immersed in some mind-wasting, time-numbing game on Daisy when it started. I was having a bad day anyway; I overslept and had to walk a half mile (ish, I haven’t measured) to get into work (after spending an hour on the bus), I stayed late and walked another half mile to the bus stop. The bus was late, the people were annoying and now the infernal bus was just stopped - not at a red light, not at a bus stop, just in the street.
Some idiot college student was standing in front of the bus. In the street.
The driver was shouting at him to wait at the bus stop and he would pick him up (drivers can be ticketed for stopping anywhere other than a designated bus stop), and motioning to the bus stop not 20 feet away. The kid, meanwhile, was screaming "LET ME IN! OPEN THE DOOR!" and threatening to call the supervisor, then pulling out his cell phone and attempting to call. Standing in front of the bus.
The driver called in on the radio to explain the situation to the supervisor. At some point in this 10-15 minute drama, the kid finally got on the damned sidewalk and (lo and behold!) the driver pulled up to the sidewalk and (wait for it!) opened the door to let the kid on. Now you’d think that this would be the point where the bus started moving again, but noooooooo.
The kid and the driver are at the front of the bus SCREAMING at each other about what was actually said and who was right and who was wrong. This stupid kid claimed that the driver told him to get on another bus and was making obscene gestures, which was not at all the case. Almost the entire rest of the bus (except me and one other highly exasperated person) shouted their agreement with the driver, but the kid KEEPS SCREAMING and we are still not moving.
Finally the kid sits down, but he keeps muttering and seems to be picking a fight with random woman on the bus. He rides for (I wish I were making this up) 6 blocks and gets off the bus. In the time he wasted screaming and being an entitled asshole, he could have walked there and I would have been home a good 15 minutes earlier.
Today is Friday, but it happened yesterday, so FOAD Entitled College Idiot.
I sometimes hate living in a college town.
Hmmm… maybe he was hopped up on something. What an ass. Seems like everyone is having shitty days. Can’t they get better soon?
And I am so sorry about your family problems. My dad (from cambrigde NY, a suny at albany student) died 4 years ago this march. He wasn’t even 50 yet.
It was sudden, yet it wasn’t. 8 years previously he had a liver transplant. then one day his heart failed him, his body couldn’t take it anymore. My whole family was so shocked- except me. I had been waiting for that call for 8 years. Dreading it, expecting it, everytime it rang. We lived thousands of miles apart and I would give anything for a do over;to know ahead of time so we could spend time together, be close, have closure. In my heart I sincerely feel you are blessed. I know its hard to see that right now, but someday it will all become clear to you. Warm wishes, dawn
Comment by dawn marie � January 6, 2007 @ 0:30 am